Spooky season is upon us! Whether you like a good, old fashioned ghost story or a classic slasher vibe, Literary Arts booksellers are here with some seasonal recommendations for all ages.
First, we checked in with bookseller Pauline on some of their favorite horror reads.
Pauline recommends The Angel of Indian Lake, by Stephen Graham Jones. “It’s chock full of horror movie references, Native American mythology, and heart.”
They also recommend Grady Hendrix’s Final Girl Support Group. “If you love classic horror movies, you HAVE to read this book,” Pauline says. “I will read any book Grady Hendrix writes. Not only is he a horror aficionado, he is compellingly adept at writing complex female protagonists.”
Sarah Maria Griffin’s Eat the Ones You Love was a new favorite this year. “A queer horror novel set in a flower shop in a decaying mall in Ireland… with a blood-thirsty carnivorous orchid named Baby. A story about desire, monstrosity, and working retail.” Pauline calls it “deliciously fun!”
Here’s a few more titles Pauline wanted to shoutout:
Five Survive by Holly Jackson
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson, who you can catch this November at the Portland Book Festival!
The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling
You can find more of what Pauline’s reading here!
Next, we caught up with bookseller Adesina for some genre-bending thrills.
Of course, they had to start with an all-time favorite, Monstrilio by Gerardo Sa´mano Córdova. “In an act of desperation, a grieving mother cuts out a piece of her dead son’s lung, from which grows the titular Monstrilio. What follows is a spectacularly queer, international novel about family and belonging. The final chapter had me in tears.”
Then we took a trip to the memoir section for Carmen Maria Machado’s In the Dream House. Adesina says, “told in vignettes that equip infamous horror tropes to communicate the nightmare of abuse Machado endured with her intimate partner, this memoir is among the finest I’ve ever read.”
One of their new favorites from this year was This World is Not Yours by Keming Ashing-Giwa which Adesina calls “a messy queer polycule falls apart as a yet-unknown organism devours the planet they’ve made home in this wholly unique cli-fi novella.”
Lastly, they recommend Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson. “The kind of horror that surrounds you, suffocates you,” Adesina writes. “Irish folklore and intergenerational trauma combine for a truly unforgettable tale that will leave you looking at children’s TV with fear, and the sapphic romance at the heart provides much-needed reprieve.”
You can check out more of Adesina’s recommendations here!
And finally, bookseller Alex took us on a ghoulish tour through the children’s section.
“Honestly,” Alex says, “I’m kind of a baby. I don’t read a lot of adult genre horror, but as a kid I loved a good scary story.”
“We’ve gotten some amazing middle-reader graphic novels in the last few years—these are just some of my favorites!”
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier, a touching tale of sisters and ghosts centered on Dia de los Muertos, The Day of the Dead
Snapdragon by Kat Leyh — one of my all-time favorite graphic novels, a nostalgic adventure story about an odd girl, an even odder old woman, and the strength of found family.
Lee Knox Ostertag’s Witch Boy series is another beloved classic that defies gender norms and unlocks forgotten family secrets.
The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor is equal parts spooky and heartwarming, with really sweet characters you can’t help but rally behind!
For middle readers age 8-12 (or any age!), Alex recommends the classic Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz, which has been keeping kids up past their bedtimes since 1981.
For a more modern tale, they recommend The House Next Door by Ellen Oh, or The Better to Eat You With by Tehlor Kay Mejia, both new this year.
And last but certainly not least, they wanted to shout out a few favorites in our Young Adult section, typically recommended for readers ages 13 and up.
The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power edited by Terry J Benton-Walker
The Dead and the Dark by local author Courtney Gould, who you can catch at the Portland Book Festival this November 8th!
Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui
As a bonus, Alex also included YA/adult cross over Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire. “This is technically the second book in the Wayward Children series,” they tell us, “but you don’t have to read them in order. This installment tells the story of twin sisters Jack and Jill, one raised by a mad scientist, the other by a vampire king. It’s as much fun as it sounds.”
Visit the Literary Arts Bookstore and Cafe at 716 SE Grand Ave., Portland, OR, (cafe opens at 7 a.m., bookstore at 10 a.m.)
